Picking Up the Pieces
by IheartRonaldWeasley
Summary: My take on how Katniss and Peeta re-discovered eachother. Set at the end of "Mockingjay" and before the epilogue.  Rated T just in case of future chapters that could include flashbacks to the games.
1. Starting Again

**Disclaimer: I do not own "The Hunger Games" nor do I own the main characters. They all belong to Suzanne Collins.**

**Starting Again**

I'm sitting high up in a tree in the arena, having just barely outrun 3 of the Careers as they chased me through the dense woods. Currently they are walking around below me looking for where I could've gone, when _he_ walks through the trees. I try to get Peeta's attention, to get him to run, but it's too late. The District 1 tribute has already jumped him and is raising his knife to slice open his throat. "NO!" I scream with tears running down my face and sit straight up. It is only now that I realize I'm in my bed in Victor's Village in District 12 and not the woods in the arena for the Hunger Games. Breathing heavily I try to calm myself down, "It was only a dream." I whisper to myself as I try to untangle my sheets and wipe the sweat from my forehead. It is just after dawn and I can tell that I will in no way be able to go back to sleep now, so I decide to get up and go hunting. It's been a few weeks since the end of the war and I've been sent back to District 12, having served my purpose as the Mockingjay figure. Peeta has recently moved back here, as well as Haymitch. Peeta is still not completely himself and I try to give him his space, knowing that he is not always sure about me and if I'm bad or good. I strap on my boots and braid my long brown hair and head for the door.

As I step out onto my front porch I see a small loaf of bread with the melted cheese on top, knowing that Peeta must've left it there for me. He must be having a good day today for him to have done this. Occasionally we'll take a walk around the ruins of the District or we'll work on our book together when he's feeling good, but it hurts a little that he's not the same old Peeta and things aren't as easy as they used to be, but he is trying. It's just a slow process. Grateful, I pick up the loaf and head for the woods. Once I've reached my spot and dig out my bow and sheath of arrows, even though it's not technically against the law to hunt anymore I don't feel right if they aren't in the same place after so many years, I nibble on the bread and listen for any game that might be nearby. A few hours later I decide to head back home with a few rabbits and squirrels in my game bag. Hunting isn't as necessary now for food as it was before, but after eating this way for so long it's sometimes what I really crave. I decide I can leave a couple of squirrels on Peeta's doorstep, they were his father's favorite and I know he enjoyed them as well. I was just going to leave them there, same as he left the bread for me, but decide that I would just go ahead and knock on the door. I wait for a few seconds, closer and closer to chickening out as the seconds tick by when the door opens.

"Katniss," Peeta sounds as though he's surprised. I don't know why he would be, I'm the only one that would be knocking on his door aside from Haymitch, but he's probably holed up in his house somewhere drunk as a skunk as usual.

"Hi" I say, trying to remember why I decided to come over here in the first place.

He opens the door a little wider, "Come on in, I'm just baking. Don't mind having some company." he says and I step into his house. I immediately smell the delicious fumes of freshly baked bread as I step through the door and he leads me toward the kitchen.

"It smells great in here. Thanks for the bread this morning." I say as I take a seat at the kitchen table. "I've brought you some squirrels. I remembered they were your dad's favorite and thought you might like some."

"Yeah, thanks. That bread, with the melted cheese, that is your favorite, right?" he asks.

I nod my head, "Right. It was a great breakfast while I was hunting. So how're you feeling today?"

"Pretty good," he says as he turns back to the loaf of bread he had been kneading before I knocked on his door. "Haymitch stopped by last night and tried to help me with some questions I had. It's helped me today, I think. Sometimes there are just things that are really confusing."

I purse my lips and try to hold in the choice words I have about the Capitol and the things they had done to him. The things they had filled his head with, all of the lies that made him hate me. I didn't realize how much I actually cared for him until he couldn't remember any of the good things that had happened between us. "That's understandable," I say after a moment. "You went through a lot. I know it's hard, but you're doing great."

He grimaces, "Thanks." A few moments of silence pass as he continues to work on his loaf of bread. Then, the sound of the new anthem is heard playing on the television in the next room.

"Must be another announcement from Paylor." I say and stand to go watch and see what's going on. The announcement is just a general address to the people of Panem about the continued peace efforts throughout the country and the new officials being appointed in the Capitol. Everything seems to be going pretty well over the past few weeks. It seems like everything could be balancing out pretty soon and life could be improving drastically from what we have all been used to our whole lives. "Is it anything important?" Peeta calls from the kitchen.

"Not really," I call back. "Just a general statement of how things are going right now. Nothing too big." I lean back into the sofa and let out a yawn. My restless night of sleep is starting to catch up to me. Before I know it I've slipped off to sleep and only realize it when I jolt awake from another nightmare. This one involving the entire replay of Rue's and Prim's deaths. I wipe the beads of sweat off my brow and try to calm myself once more when I hear the heavy footsteps running into the sitting room. "Katniss? Are you ok?" Peeta asks, concerned.

Great, I must've cried out again. How embarassing. "Yeah, just dozed off. Just a nightmare." I try to shrug it off, but I'm still a little shakey. He sits down on the other end of the couch. Not too close. Not as close as I selfishly want him to be.

"Oh ok." He looks down for a moment, thinking, then looks back at me with a furrowed brow. "I used to sleep with you to help you not have nightmares after the first Hunger Games. Real or not real?"

I grimace, remembering the sort of game that was made up during the war to help Peeta figure out which of his memories were true and which were complete and utter lies. "Real." I say, slightly blushing.

He nods his head for a moment. "I'm sorry I don't do that anymore."

"It's ok. I'm fine really. I don't have them that much anymore, honestly." I say, even though I can tell he can see right through my lies.

"Don't lie to me Katniss. I know, I can tell. I want to help you like that again, I just don't think that right now is the right time. I'm afraid that I'll wake up one morning and be having one of _those_ days and see you lying next to me and try to kill you again or something." He says and shudders at the thought of the few times he has tried to kill me thanks to the lies that have been fed to him.

"I know Peeta. Really, I don't expect anything like that from you." I say trying to reassure him and help him not be so hard on himself.

"I think spending time with you though really helps me sort out the bad stuff. The more I'm with you and see how good you really are I can remember everything a little bit better."

"Well, then maybe we shouldn't avoid each other so much." I say trying to lighten the suddenly heavy moment. "We can try to do more stuff together if you really think you're up for it." _I hope I'm up for it..._ I think to myself. It's always hard on me when we have a good day like this, then the next day he hates me again. The emotional rollercoaster is extremely tough for all parties involved.

"Yeah, I think that'd be good," he agrees, then thinks for a moment. "Do you think that maybe I could go hunting with you sometime? Maybe it could help?" He asks.

I nod my head. "Sure," trying to sound encouraging, knowing that if he does go hunting with me I won't be doing much of it due to his heavy footfalls scaring off most of the game within our general area. "Maybe I could give you some lessons. Want to try tomorrow morning?" I ask as I stand to leave.

"Yeah," he says with a ghost of the old Peeta smile on his face as he walks me to the door. "I'd like that."

"Ok, it's a date." I say, then immediately regret my choice of words, mentally shooting myself. Closing my eyes I try to backtrack, "I mean, yeah sounds good."

He gives a light chuckle, "Ok,_ sounds good_." He replies and I can tell he's taunting me a little with slight shift of his eyebrows.

I shake me head, knowing that I'm going to go home and relive this awkward moment for the rest of the day, "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Alright. Bye Katniss." He says.

"Bye," I say as I walk away. When I get to my door across the street, I turn to look back at his door and see he's still watching me. He lifts his hand with a slight wave and I return the gesture and enter my house. Once the door is closed I lean against it and try to not get my hopes up too much in anticipation for the next day. While there were signs that the old Peeta is still somewhere inside him today, you can never know what side of him you'll get tomorrow. I spend the rest of my day working on my families book and retire to bed early. With my rigorous nights of sleep it's hard to really get a restful nights sleep at all, so I'm constantly tired and always go to bed early, even though I'll wake up from a nightmare every few hours in the night. The next morning I wake at the same time, right after dawn, covered in another sheen of sweat. I decide to try to shake it off and take a quick shower and get dressed for this morning's hunt. I have a few butterflies in my stomach, knowing that today could change a lot of things between me and Peeta, but I try to keep a level head. As I'm walking down the stairs I hear a knock at the door. _Wow, he's eager today,_ I think to myself as I go to answer it.

When I open my door I know that the shock is written all over my face when I see that it's not Peeta as I expected, but instead a different, but still familiar face. "Gale," I whisper.

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading my first "Hunger Games" fan fiction. This story just kinda came to me last night while I was lying in bed after just having finished the books for the first time the day before. I hope to continue it on and make it into a story that sets up the epilogue at the end of "Mockingjay." I have a few ideas for where I want this story to go, but it could change. Some of the details I may get incorrectly from time to time, so I will go ahead and ask for forgiveness on a few of those things now. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Let me know in the reviews if you like it and if I should continue. I'm a little rusty in my writing, so please go easy on me with your criticism. Thanks again for reading!**


	2. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**One Step Forward, Two Steps back**

"Gale," I whisper as I stare at the handsome face of my oldest friend. I am in no way prepared to see him at this moment and have a huge mixture of emotions playing across my face all at once. I'm happy, of course, because he is my oldest friend and someone who knows me better than I feel I know myself sometimes and I've really needed someone like him around these last few weeks, but I have a little animosity toward him as well because he was inadvertantly responsible for the death of my little sister, Prim.

"Hey Catnip," he grimaces, using his nickname for me.

"Um, come in." I open the door wider to let him inside my house. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting to see you here, now." I say, fumbling for the words.

"I know. I'm sorry, I should've called or something." He says as I lead him into the sitting room. "I don't mean to intrude or anything, I just wanted to check in on you and see how things are. Are you doing ok?"

I sit on the couch and glance up at him as he also takes a seat, "Yeah, things are ok. As good as I can expect them to be I guess. It's hard, I'm still dealing with a lot...considering..." I trail off. I didn't want to bring up the subject of Prim so soon, but without even thinking, that's where my train of thought just went.

He looks down at his hands and I can't help but think that those are the hands that created the bombs that killed my sister. "I know..." he says. I can tell he's trying to tread lightly. I know he's sorry that Prim died, but I can also tell he's not sorry for creating the bombs that ended her life. They are the thing that really helped end the war, I just wish that Prim and all of the other children there had not had to pay the price for that decision. He looks up and is about to say something when I hear my front door open, "Katniss? Are you ready to head out to the woods?"

Peeta steps into the room and I look up at him, not wanting him to take this un-announced visit from Gale as anything threatening to him, but I can tell that a switch is flipping inside his head as his happy demeanor starts to disappear. "You." he says, his tone menacing, taking another step into the room.

"Peeta," I say quickly standing and crossing to him to put myself in between the two of them as Gale also stands, in defense. "It's ok, Gale just came by to..." I place my hands on his chest to try to calm him down. I realize too late this was not a good choice on my part. Peeta's glare lowers from Gale's face to my own. Before Gale or I can even do anything to deter the action, I'm knocked to the floor with a harsh blow across my face as Peeta slaps me out of the way with the back of his hand. Gale quickly shoves Peeta back into the wall, "DON'T TOUCH HER!" he yells in his face. When Peeta looks down and sees me, still in the floor, my hand covering the tender spot on my face that he hit with way more force than I ever thought him capable of, he begins to come back to himself.

"Oh no," his face crumbles. "Katniss, no..." He looks so broken. So upset and horrified at himself. "I'm sorry." He squirms away from Gale and runs out of the house. Gale turns to watch him run across the street then goes to his knees in front of me.

"Katniss," he says gently, reaching to lightly touch my flaming red cheek, "Are you ok?"

Slowly, tears stinging my eyes, I shake my head. I'm trying so hard to be tough and not to break down, but the sobs start to wrack my body and I can do nothing to stop them. Gale reaches out and draws me to himself to try and calm me down. He doesn't realize that I'm not as upset with Peeta as I am with him. Gale's presence today in District 12 is what caused Peeta's shift in mood. I realize that Gale has been somewhat responsible for a lot of the pain I have experienced recently, and while I don't want to be upset with him, I can't just let things go back to the way they were between us. Surely he knows that I can't look him in the eyes and not see Prim die over and over again, while I could do nothing to stop it. Surely, he knows that. Then suddenly, his body stiffens. I'm not sure what has caused the sudden shift, but then he grasps my shoulders and looks at me with a hard look in his eyes. "Did he come in saying something about going hunting?"

I look up confused, "Yeah. We thought maybe it would be good for him if we spent some time together, so he asked if he could come with me today. Why? Is something wrong?"

Gale shakes my shoulders, "That's the dumbest thing you could possibly do! Go out in the woods all alone and hand him a weapon? You saw how fast he turned on you today, what if that had been in the woods?" He's so angry at me he's shaking. To be honest I had never thought about it like that, but I know Peeta would've been fine...at least that's what I keep telling myself right now. He goes on talking about how I can't trust Peeta right now and it just keeps making me mad. Gale is treating me like a child.

I lean back away from him, "Gale, I can't do this right now. Please, just go. We'll talk some other time." I whisper. He looks hurt, I know he's only looking out for me, but he nods his head. I watch out the window as he climbs back into the hovercraft he came in and flies away.

I sit, rocking back and forth for a few moments as my tears finish falling. How could this day go from being what I thought would be a such perfect day to becoming another one of my nightmares? My cheek is still throbbing and I know it's not going to look very good, but I'm not upset with Peeta at all. I don't blame him for what took place, I don't blame Gale either, not really. It's all because of the stupid Capitol. They're the ones that took Peeta and twisted his mind with lies and stories and caused him to be the angry person he can sometimes be now. I stand and numbly walk out my front door into the chilly, early morning air and walk up to Peeta's front door. I know that if Gale was still here he would be yelling again about how stupid it is for me to go over to Peeta's, saying he's going to hurt me again.

"Go away," I hear Peeta say after I knock a few times.

"Peeta, it's ok." I say, hating that he's so upset with himself. "Just talk to me. I'm fine."

Slowly the door cracks open and he peeks around the door. When he looks me in the eyes I can see his eyes are bloodshot...he's been crying as well. "Katniss, please. Don't make me feel worse than I already do. Just leave me alone."

"No, Peeta." I say sticking my foot into the door as he tries to close it again. "Things will never get better if you don't stop pushing me away after something like this happens. Please." I plead with him. "I promise I'm not even hurt." I say trying to put on my poker face. He shakes his head and leads me to a mirror in the entryway. "You sure about that?" he asks pointing to the mirror.

I'm mildly shocked at my appearance. My right eye is already starting to turn purple and is beginning to swell a little and my cheek is bright red from the force of his hand. I try to act nonchalant about the whole thing, but seeing it for the first time I know now it looks just as bad as it feels and I know he knows that too. "Katniss," he says, gazing at the ground. "I'm sorry...I...I can't do this right now." I try to hold in my tears as I hear the words I just spoke to Gale repeated back to me. "Please, stop being so forgiving. I just gave you a black eye and you didn't even do anything to deserve it. I just need to be alone." I nod my head, knowing that there are no words of comfort I can speak to him at this moment, and walk out the door, closing it behind me. Once I'm back inside my own house I sit at my kitchen table and the tears return. I can do nothing to stop them. I know Peeta hates himself right now. All I want to do is hold him and let him know it's ok, but I know that that's no help to him right now. I put my head in my hands then I hear Greasy Sae come in the back door.

She comes by every so often to fix me a meal and make sure I am taking care of myself. She seems to be in a somewhat cheerful mood, I hear her humming as she steps into the kitchen, then stops. "Katniss? What's wrong?" She asks as she sets some food on the counter.

I really just want to be alone now, but I know that now she's seen me crying into my hands that that will not happen. Slowly I lower my hands and look up to meet her gaze. When she sees my blackening and partially closed eye she gasps, "Oh Katniss..." she says, sliding into the chair beside me. "Honey, did Peeta do this to you?" Choking back the sobs, I slowly nod my head. Her eyes are filled with rage, "I'm going right over there to give that boy what he's got coming to him."

Quickly I reach out and grab her arm shaking my head, "No! Please don't! He feels awful." I tell her everything that happened. About Gale being here, Peeta walking in, and the actions that followed, bringing about my injuries. I skip over the part about how Peeta was supposed to go hunting with me. Somehow I figured I could do without that lecture for a second time today. She gently strokes my hair, trying to soothe me.

"You just need to be really careful around that boy, you hear me? I know it's not his fault that he snaps like this, but if I ever come in and see you like this again you aren't going to stop me from going over there. You understand?" I nod my head and she gives me some ice for my eye telling me to go lie down and she'd bring me some hot soup in a little while.

That night I lie in my bed, unable to sleep, trying to forget about the things that had happened this morning and wondering if I was ever really going to get _my_ Peeta to come back...

**A/N: Thanks for reading chapter 2! Be sure to review and let me know your thoughts! **


	3. Healing

**Healing**

Three days passed and I didn't see Peeta. I was going crazy trying to keep busy while giving him the space he needed. Haymitch had come to see me the day after everything happened. He was extremely hungover, but was checking in on me after Peeta had visited him, still horrified at what he'd done. Haymitch had said that Peeta was still very broken down from the events of the day Gale was here, but that he thought he would be coming around soon enough and that I just needed to give him space and time. I was grateful to have Haymitch here. He's one of the few people that had seen me and Peeta with each other when we weren't being followed by cameras and in a lot of ways he knew us better than anyone else.

The swelling of my eye had gone down considerably and I was able to see out of it, but it was still purple and blue. The nightmares seem to get increasingly worse with each passing night. Last night I was running from a pack of mutts when I fell over the dead body of Peeta, then horrified I stumbled back into the body of Prim, then Rue, then my mother, Gale, and so on and so forth with other people I loved until the mutts surrounded me. Once again I woke up this morning screaming. I don't know what I can do to ever make these nightmares go away. Part of me believes that my nights of dreamless sleep are far, far behind me.

Today I figure why not work a little more on my family's book. It started snowing outside about an hour ago and I don't really have any desire to be out in it at the moment. I sit down on the sofa in my living room and try my best to sketch a few edible plants into the book, but my drawings are a complete mess. I set the book on the coffee table just about to give up when I hear a knock on the door. I figure it's probably just Greasy Sae with her arms too full of more food to make me that she can't open the door herself, but when I open the door I'm suprised to find Peeta.

He grimaces, his eyes going directly to my still black eye, then falling to the small loaf of bread in his hands. "Hey," he says.

"Hi," I say in return, trying to smile a little.

"I baked you some bread," he offers the loaf to me and I take it. It's still warm. "Do you want to come in?" I ask opening the door wider. He looks unsure for a moment, but then concedes and steps in. I lead him into the living room where he takes a seat while I take the bread to the kitchen. When I return with a few slices of the bread for us to share I find him looking at the pages in the book I had been working on. I take a seat on the opposite end of the couch and place some bread near him on the coffee table. "I was trying to work on that this morning, but my drawing skills are no where near as good as yours. I think I'm doing more harm than good." I say, still trying to lighten the heavy tone of his visit.

He gives a soft laugh, "Yeah, no offense Katniss, but they're pretty bad." He looks up at me and smiles a little.

I smile back and nod my head in agreement. "I guess I should just leave those drawings to you then," I say handing him the pencil I had been using. He takes it and erases the horrible drawing attempts I had made and starts to work on them. I watch him work for a while in silence, not really sure what to say. It seems strange to just start up a random conversation considering everything that happened between us the other day. While I sit, knibbling on my bread trying to come up with something to say, he finally looks up and sets the book aside.

"Katniss, I'm so sorry."

I sigh and slide closer to him on the couch and lightly touch his shoulder. He winces for a moment, as if he's not sure how to react yet, but doesn't shrug me off or do anything worse so I leave it there. "Peeta, it's ok. Really. It's not your fault at all. I wish you would stop blaming yourself for everything. I'm not mad at you."

He shakes his head, "I know deep down that it's not completely my fault, but I want to control my emotions so badly. It's my fault that I can't do _that_ part of it. It's just, when I saw Gale here with you all of those jealous feelings from after the first Games came back and was initially what got me angry, but then when I saw you in front of me all of the things the Capitol had forced me to believe came back and that's when I hit you. I have such a hard time differentiating between what's real and what's not. I wish I could, but it's still taking time."

I nod, "You can take as much time as you need. It's not going to happen overnight, I know that, we all do. You're trying and that's all anyone can ask. You've done so good over the last few months. I'm so proud of you. I know that eventually you'll be able to remember everything correctly, but just know that Haymitch and I are here for you and we are willing to do anything we can to help you out."

He grimaces and looks at me once more, reaching up with his left hand and lightly traces the purple shadow under my right eye, "Thank you. And again, I'm sorry I hurt you."

My eyes unwillingly close at his touch, it feels so good to have him be so tender with me again, but I'm still not entirely sure what I feel for him. "I forgive you Peeta." Is all I can say, because I know deep down it's what he needs to here, although in my opinion there's nothing to forgive.

"Thanks," he says as he lowers his hand and stands to leave. "I can help you with those drawings again tomorrow, if you want me to."

I smile and stand, "Yeah, I'd like the company." I walk him to the door and say goodbye, knowing that we are one step back in the right direction.

**A/N: Thanks for reading the third chapter! I know this one is a little boring and short, but it's kind of just a filler chapter to get them back to at least speaking again. Please review and let me know your thoughts!**


	4. A Few Suprises

**A Few Surprises**

When I wake up the next morning a fine layer of snow lays across District 12. Everything outside looks beautiful with the gorgeous layer of white that covers my front yard. Snow, while inconvenient and annoying at times, always makes me a little happy and I love to stand and marvel at its beauty. As I stand with the curtains drawn at my front window, gazing at the snow, I see Peeta walk out of his house across the street, bundled in his coat and scarf with a steaming loaf of bread tucked under his arm. I walk over and meet him at the door, excited that he is coming around again. "Hi Peeta," I greet him.

"Hey Katniss," he smiles back. I invite him in and we divide the bread to share between the two of us. We make some small talk about the snow outside and other superficial type of stuff and then he looks over at me and grins, "Want to go take a walk with me?"

I smile and nod my head, "Yeah, I'd like that." I pull on my boots and my coat and we take off down my front steps. District 12 looks so beautiful, the way the snow has fallen on everything it's easier to remember it as it once was, instead of the bomb ravaged and torn down place it has become. I look over at Peeta and he is looking around him with a peacful look on his face. I'm so glad that he has been doing well over the last few days. It's nice to have my friend back, even though I know things will never get back to how they used to be. Soon we come upon the remains of the bakery that his family used to own. None of them were able to get out before the bombing and I know he's thinking about them as we stand looking at the old burned down building. "You ok?" I ask him and touch his shoulder.

He nods his head, but his eyes are sad. "I miss my brothers. We had some good times growing up...when our mother wasn't around...It's just that, I never got to say goodbye to them, you know? I volunteered to go back into the Games and then we were thrown onto a train and I never saw them again. I thought I would die without seeing them again, not the other way around." He shakes his head and looks down.

"I understand, Peeta. Prim died right in front of me and there was nothing I could do...nothing I could say..." I trail off as a lump forms in my throat.

Peeta turns to me and reaches for my hand, something he hasn't done in such a long time. It feels marvelous. "I'm sorry Katniss. I didn't mean to make you think of that again. I know things are still difficult for you."

I shrug, "It's ok. It's something we're both having to deal with." He nods his head then leads me away from the bakery, my hand still in his. We walk through the square and turn to head back to Victor's Village, all while holding hands. I smile, loving the way it feels to be close to him again. I've missed this so much, I've just tried really hard over the past few months to be tough and not admit how much I cared for him.

Walking into Victor's Village we encounter a patch of ice in the middle of the road. Peeta tries to steer me around it, but my boot catches on the ice and I slip. A yelp escapes my mouth as I start to fall, but Peeta is quick to try to steady me with his free hand, but I end up pulling him down on top of me. We both start laughing and it's only when we calm ourselves down that we realize how close our faces are to one another...our noses are almost touching. I don't really know what to do, we haven't been _this_ close in a long time and it reminds me very much of the last time we fell into the snow in this same part of town. Peeta doesn't look like he really knows how to handle it either. I turn my head and clear my throat a little bit and Peeta laughs, stands, and helps me back onto my feet. As we dust ourselves off he throws a glance in my direction, "Before the Vitory Tour you kissed me and we fell into the snow like that. Real or Not Real?"

"Real." I tell him, but not meeting his gaze. I don't want to admit to the part about me doing it because there were cameras present, but he doesn't ask.

Peeta once again grabs my hand and we walk the rest of the way back to my house. "That was fun." I say when we're standing at my door.

"Yeah, we should do it again soon," he replies.

I'm not really ready for our time together to end today, but I don't know what to do. Then, without even thinking about it, I realize I'm speaking, "Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?"

He smiles, "Yeah, I'd love to."

I smile, "Ok, then I'll see you tonight."

"Sounds like a plan." He squeezes my hand and then does something completely unexpected, he reaches forward and pulls me into a hug. This is definitely something I've missed. I always feel so safe with his arms wrapped so protectively around me and I can breathe in the familiar scent of freshly baked bread. Then, too soon, he lets me go and still smiling turns and heads back in the direction of his house. I watch him walk up to his door and he waves back at me as he walks through his front door.

I step back into my house and I shake my head, what did I just get myself into for tonight?

**A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! Things are slowly getting better for Katniss and Peeta and I'm super excited for the upcoming chapters. Please drop me a review and let me know what you think! **


	5. Improvements in Many Ways

**Improvements in Many ways**

Luckily Greasy Sae was already coming by today, so she was able to help me throw some things together for dinner. She made a pot of squirrel stew and added a few "Special Ingredients" as she called them to make it even better, it's just the thing to have on a cold snowy day. I made some hot chocolate and started a fire in the fireplace because the house was absolutely freezing. After a few hours of cooking Greasy Sae was preparing to leave and she threw me a few more "Be careful" and "Take care of yourself" type of statements. Once she was gone I had about an hour to get things prepared before Peeta would be here. I threw on some clean clothes, just a shirt and some pants, then decided I looked and smelled awful so I hopped in the shower. Once out I found a small compact of make-up my prep team must've left here a long time ago, so I quickly touched up around my bad eye to cover the remaining bruises. I didn't want that incident brought up again tonight. I then braided my hair and found a different shirt and some black pants to put on and was just adding a few logs to the fire and heading to the kitchen to stir the pot of stew when Peeta knocked on the door.

"Come in!" I called from the kitchen. I hear Peeta come inside and clomp down the hallway to the kitchen. He brought a few rolls for dinner and a small cake that he had baked this afternoon and had even put his signature icing flowers on it. "Hey." he says setting the cake down on the table. "What's for dinner?"

"Squirrel stew," I reply continuing to stir, even adding some spices to it to add to the illusion that I made it by myself.

"Ah," he nods his head and grins. "Greasy Sae came by today then."

I roll my eyes and sigh, "Shut up...You know I could make this all by myself if I tried."

"Oh, I don't doubt that," he laughs.

I chuckle as well, glad that we are able to have this easy banter back and forth. I scoop some stew into a few bowls and we sit at the table. Our easy conversation continues over dinner. We are able to laugh and tease each other a little which feels great after not having this kind of conversation with eachother in so long. After dinner Peeta fixed us a few slices of cake and I made a few mugs of hot cocoa and we took them into the living room to the couch by the fireplace.

After a few minutes of silence Peeta places his empty cake plate on the coffee table and looks over at me. "Have you talked to Gale? You know, since the other day..." he trails off.

"No," I reply, suddenly very interested in the hot cocoa in my mug.

"Oh, ok" he says. "I figured he would be mad at me. To be honest I'm surprised he didn't come over and punch me right after I left."

"He was upset, yes. But we haven't spoken since then." I say, hoping this will end the discussion of the events a few days ago. I pull my legs up in front of me and turn so that I'm facing him. "Do you still want to go hunting sometime? It could be fun."

He smiles, "Yeah, I think that would be fun. I think it would be better if I just watched you though, for a little while. You know, considering..."

"Ok, watch it is." I smile.

Peeta looks up at me and smiles for a few moments, then looks to the coffee table and notices my family's book that we had talked about the other day. "You know I was thinking about this book the other day. You said that it had been really important to your family and everything and well, it got me thinking about all of the people that were important to us that aren't here with us anymore. You know, some of the tributes that helped us in the arena, your sister, my brothers and father, and Finnick and so many others. I thought maybe we could work together and make a book about them. To kind of honor them and all that they meant to us and to the people that came into contact with them."

My heart felt so heavy with the thought of having something like that, trying to steady my voice enough to speak I said, "I think that would be a great thing to have. That would be really nice."

As our conversation turns to the book we both start getting really excited and nostalgic remembering the different people that had such an impact on us and we grab some paper and start making an outline of people and what we wanted to be sure to put about them. Laughing at some memories of a few people and sharing stories with eachother about the people the other one might not know. It's the first time I've ever been able to talk about Prim since her death without being too overcome with my emotions to speak. It feels good to remember the happier times with her. We talk for hours and hours and it's only when we wake up the next morning on the sofa do we realize we both fell asleep.

I wake up first and see Peeta slouched on the other end of the couch from me. As I lay there and see his face, so peaceful in sleep, I realize that last night was the first night in a very long time that I was able to sleep with no nightmares. I smiled to myself, I always knew it was having Peeta close by that kept those from occuring. After a few moments he wakes up and looks over at me. "Wow, we fell asleep!" He laughs, rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes and stretching.

"Yeah," I laughed too. "Want some breakfast?" I ask sitting up.

"Actually, what I really want right now is a shower." He yawns. "Then maybe we can go hunting?" He asks raising his eyebrows at me.

I stand and look out the window, but the freak blizzard has only gotten worse since last night. "Um, I don't think we can do that today. Unless you want to risk getting lost in that white storm outside."

"Ah, I see." He says, joining me at the window. "Well, I guess we'll have to take a rain check. Thanks for dinner last night. I had a good time. Maybe later this afternoon we can work on that book, I can start working on the pictures and everything." He says as he reaches for his jacket hanging on the chair.

"Don't be stupid Peeta. You can't go out in that storm!"

"Katniss, I just live across the street. I'll be fine." He chuckles.

"I would personally feel better if you didn't go out in that. You could just stay here instead of going back and forth. You can even use my guest shower upstairs. Please, I don't want to have to come out there searching for you in that storm."

Peeta smiles, "Ok, that's fine. I'd hate for you to get lost then we'd both be out there looking for eachother." He laughes as he throws his jacket back over the chair and heads upstairs. I decide to go into the kitchen and try to whip something up for breakfast while he showers, when I hear a knock on my door. Why would someone be out in this storm? And why would they be coming here?

I jog up to my front door, and once again I'm surprised to find Gale standing there. I open the door so he can come in out of the blizzard and he does. As he's brushing the snow from his hair and clothes he says, "You wouldn't believe how hard it was to convince someone to bring me out here in that storm on a hovercraft. Look Catnip, I feel awful about the way I behaved the other day, I just want to talk to you about everything and..."

"Gale," I interupt him. "You really should call before you just show up like this."

"I know, I know and I'm sorry about that, but I just had to talk to you in person. You see I've been thinking about everything and..."

"Hey Katniss, where do you keep your towels?" I turn and see Peeta, obviously getting ready for his shower since he's standing there in only his jeans and no shirt. I'm unable to speak for a moment because I'm once again caught in a horribly awkward moment.

I look back at Gale and he bites his lip and nods his head, "You're right. I should've called. I could've gone my whole life without walking in on something like this." He says and storms out the door.

"No, Gale! It's not what it looks like!" I yell out the door as he jogs off into the storm. I hope he makes it back ok. I'll have to call later and make sure he made it. I turn to look at Peeta to make sure he's in control. "Peeta, you ok?"

He's gripping the banister pretty hard and has that dark look on his face, but after a moment he shakes his head and looks back at me. "Yeah, I think so."

"My towels are in the hall closet. Help yourself." I say, hoping that this unfortunate situation won't cause him to run off again.

"Ok, thanks" he says and turns back toward the closet and bathroom.

I'm sad that Gale has left because of another upsetting circumstance, but I can deal with that later. For right now I'm glad that Peeta is here, and he's not running from me this time. Because there is definitely improvement with him, he was able to completely control himself...

**A/N: Hey guys! So sorry it's taken me so long to update! Things have been insane with holidays and travel and family in and out. But I should be back on a fairly regular updating schedule again. Be sure to review and let me know your thoughts on everything. I know a lot of you have been asking about Haymitch, and he will make an appearance soon! =)**


	6. Coming Back Together

**Coming Back Together**

The rest of the afternoon we spent drafting pages and profiles of people for the book. I had a rough time at points trying to outline things for Prim's page, but Peeta was very sweet and even added a few of his own observations of my little sister and helped me get through it. We laughed at times sharing memories of loved ones and I could feel things between us get more and more comfortable. I still felt bad about the second mishap with Gale that morning, but I wouldn't let myself think too much about it. I was too happy that Peeta was able to keep himself under control because that showed that he was definitely improving.

The snow outside had lightened considerably by the time evening rolled around and we had eaten dinner. After working on the book for a little while longer it was apparent that everything was winding down for the day. I had gone to the kitchen to put our dishes away and heard Peeta come in behind me, so I looked over my shoulder and saw him leaning against the door jamb with his jacket in his hands. "Well, I guess it's time for me to head on out. This has been nice." He says with a smile.

"Yeah, it has." I agree. There is a few moments of silence and I follow him out to the hall as he is leaving. "Thanks for staying today. Maybe we can work on the book some more this week."

"Sure, sounds great." He says. We get to the door and there's a little bit of an awkward moment, neither of us exactly knowing how to end the evening. "Well, I guess I'll see you later.." he says and holds out his arms for a hug and I go to him willingly. Peeta really has to be one of the best hug givers ever. His arms feel so strong and secure wrapped around me that I don't ever want to leave for the feeling of security in his arms is so reassuring. I feel him start to pull away and, even though I don't want to, I loosen my arms from around his waist, but he stops. I look up and see his face so close to mine that at first I wasn't sure what was about to happen. It wasn't until his lips met mine that my brain caught up with everything that was going on. We fell back into our familiar way of kissing eachother from so many months ago. I realized how many things I had missed about him since the months he had been captured by the Capitol. I had missed his warm, strong hands cupping my face, his teasing smile, his smell, and his taste. Far too soon, for me at least, he pulled away. He took a deep breath and smiled, "Wow..." He reached for the door knob and my heart sank. "Goodnight, Katniss."

Before I could stop it, that one word whispered through my lips. "Stay."

He stopped and looked back at me, "Katniss I...I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"No, I don't mean it like that." I say quickly. "I mean, like you used to. You know, nights on the train and at the training center. I just...I don't know I've had a wonderful few days with you and I don't want that to be ruined by the nightmares I'll have tonight, so I guess I'm just being selfish not wanting that to happen. I'm sorry, I'm rambling. It's ok, you don't have to." What is wrong with me? I can't stop the overflow of stupid words coming out of my mouth.

Peeta laughed once and shook his head, "Katniss, stop. I'll stay if you really want me to. I hate to think about you being frightened here all by yourself."

Relief flooded through me, "Thank you."

Things were a little uncomfortable as I was preparing for bed, but once we laid down and I was in his arms again I felt at home. It's strange how something as simple as having Peeta with me makes everything seem so much better. That night I slept in a peaceful slumber with only good dreams.

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait again! And I know this one's a little shorter than what you're used to from me, but this chapter was one where I sat down to write a completely different chapter and the characters insisted on things going a different way than what I wanted. I was not planning on a kiss in this chapter at all, but Peeta insisted, so I consented. Please review and let me know your thoughts! Thanks! =)**


	7. Another Unexpected Visit

**Another Unexpected Visit**

The next morning I awoke and felt so at peace with the lack of nightmares the night before. Peeta was still asleep and I didn't want to disturb him, so I slept out of bed and decided I would try to make something for breakfast. As I was standing at the counter heating up some of the bread that Peeta had brought over and looking for something else that I could throw together I heard footsteps come into the kitchen behind me. "Good morning!" I say cheerily, continuing to make breakfast without looking over my shoulder. "Did you sleep well?"

"Not particularly, but I don't think I'm the person you meant to ask that question to." I cringed at the sound of the voice and turned to see the face I already knew was there. Haymitch.

"Oh, good morning Haymitch. I wasn't expecting you."

"Well, it's good to see you too sweetheart." He chuckled, "So, I'm guessing that you and loverboy had a little sleepover last night?" Haymitch asked wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes, "It's not like that...Besides, shouldn't you be hungover right now? What gives you the idea you can just walk into my house?"

"Oh, ouch." he replies. "Actually, I was not drinking last night, hence my presence at your house right now. And as for entering unannounced, I see Peeta and Greasy Sae come and go all the time without knocking. I just thought it was normal for you now. I just merely wanted to check on you and see how you were doing, but it seems that dear old loverboy is taking care of that just fine."

I slapped Haymitch on the arm, "Would you stop! He'll hear you. Besides I told you, it's not like that. I'm not really sure what we are." I say as I turn back around to the counter to continue my breakfast preparations, but what I was really doing was avoiding the knowing look in Haymitch's eyes.

"Uh huh...so you're telling me that absolutely nothing happened last night. You just slept."

"Yes, we just slept." I say, trying to cover the lie coming clear through my voice.

"I don't believe you...You didn't even kiss or anything?" He asks crossing his arms.

"Ok, fine. We kissed. I told you, I'm not sure what it meant. He's still a little bit of a time bomb. You never know what's going through his head."

"Ok, ok. I told you. I'm just trying to catch up." Haymitch says putting his hands up in mock surrender. "I know that Peeta still has some issues to work through because of everything that happened. You're just lucky that he hasn't gone off on you yet." My lack of a response totally gave me away. "Wait, he didn't go off on you did he?" He asks, concern etched in his features.

"Just once. It was an accident. Something that shouldn't have happened." I say trying to shrug it off.

"Katniss, did he touch you?" Haymitch grabbed my arm and turned me around to make sure I was all there. Apparently some of my makeup had worn off and he could see the last faint purple mark under my eye. "Why didn't you tell me?"

I pulled my arm from his grasp, "You hadn't been very social and I honestly didn't want to think about it. Like I said, it wasn't his fault. Gale showed up and Peeta came in and it set him off and I got in the way. It's fine. Honestly."

Haymitch shook his head, "I can't believe that that boy hit you and just a few days later you let him sleepover. How do you know that he won't kill you next time?"

"I trust him." I say strongly.

"Just be careful. He's not the same Peeta he used to be." He warns.

"I know. We're fine."

**A/N: Once again, I'm sorry for the long wait and short update. Things have been super busy. But, I gave you a little Haymitch interaction that some of you have been asking for and there will be more later. Please don't give up on me and this story! Review and let me know your thoughts! I love to read them! Thanks! **


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